


Petty Victories

by keelahselai



Series: Wanderlust [1]
Category: Fallout 3
Genre: Bisexuality, F/F, Fights, Post-Break Up, Tumblr Prompt, bi bi bi, how do tag, she punches butch ok, shrug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-18
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-07-15 18:04:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7233067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keelahselai/pseuds/keelahselai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elle Wesson recently got dumped. She takes it out on Butch and the G.O.A.T.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Petty Victories

The G.O.A.T. was, singlehandedly, the most important test of any Vault citizen’s life. The day where your occupation for the rest of one’s existence is chosen by a cold set of multiple choice questions established centuries prior. And Elle Wesson didn’t study.

“C’mon, it won’t hurt to at least prepare yourself for the exam,” Amata had relentlessly prodded her, exasperated in the other girl’s apathy. “At least try on it, geez Louise! Maybe you can sit in on a tutoring session sometime?”

Each offer was declined with a myriad of excuses. “I prefer to study on my own,” or “I wouldn’t want to mooch off you,” or the lame “I was planning on doing something that day, actually, sorry.” Until the day came, the G.O.A.T. was just a bogeyman to scare the Vault kids into shelling out for tutors.

Unfortunately, like all bogeymen, there was a certain truth behind the fear-mongering and mounting stress and it only became reality when Mr. Brotch passed out the papers while giving instructions in a droning monotone. Rubbing a thumb over her surely bruised knuckles, she glared righteous daggers at Butch DeLoria unrelentingly, eventually tearing her eyes away for sake of Brotch clearing his throat and sliding the response sheet toward her before moving on.

As she filled out the answers to the G.O.A.T., Elle’s fingers itched for another swing at him. His lewd comments were transparent as pre-war glass; they were less genuine attempts at bagging Amata and more aimed at getting under their collective skin. And yeah, their upsettingly recent breakup with unrelieved tension _might_ have had a hand in gifting DeLoria with what’s sure to be a blooming black eye.

_“I think it’s best if we stopped seeing each other.” ___

The tip of her pencil broke circling the penultimate question.

Elle’s lip curled, and she pressed the pencil on the last answer until she managed a sad excuse for a circle with broken graphite. It was the Overseer, as always. The supreme authority in the Vault, who knows all that happens underneath the sickly fluorescent lighting in the winding tunnels. Except that wasn’t true; he had simply gotten too close to knowing of the heated moments shared in the lower levels where few but the technicians tread. One suspicious question `was enough to set off enough warning bells in Amata’s mind to cut off the relationship.

Yeah, she might be kind of bitter.

She stood up with her answers, biting her lip and tasting the tang of iron with a sharp flash of pain as a reminder that hey, that kinda hurts. Her free hand darted up to feel her lip, evidently split, and some of the anger from earlier that morning reared its head again. Of course, Amata was first in line and chipper as ever handing it in.

She did as well as she always did, and Elle had to bite back the urge to gush over it to her. She did, however, give her a quick, tight smile as she passed which was awkwardly returned.

“Yo teach, I’m done!” A devilish grin spread across Elle’s face as Butch stepped up to the desk. Mr. Brotch had the most serene look on his face she’d ever seen.

“Butch,” he said almost giddily, “Can I admit I’ve been waiting for this day for a long, long time? Allow me to savor the moment.” Butch almost audibly scowled.

After a pregnant pause, Brotch hummed in surprise and finally read the result aloud. “Huh, you’ve surprised me, Butch. I didn’t think you had it in you. Hairdresser! Who would’a thunk it?”

She had to bite her hand to keep from coughing her lungs out in laughter. Choked wheezes escaped as Butch stepped backwards, adamantly denying him. “No, that isn’t true! That ain’t me! You’re lying!”

Even after Butch was gone, Mr. Brotch kept his satisfied smirk. “You look like you’re going to implode,” he commented and gestured for her to hand him her answer sheet. 

“Kinda feel like it, yeah,” she said, face red and voice tight from restraint. She slid the paper to the teacher, irritably pushing her bobbed blonde hair behind her ears. “So, how’d I do?”

“Can’t say I haven’t been looking forward to this one, either. Says here you... huh. Didn’t expect this one either. Wonder who’ll be your first customer as a tattoo artist? Not me, I can tell you right now.”

Amata would hate it. She’d tell her she could’ve pushed herself and grown enough to have been in management.

“Wow, Mr. Brotch,” she smiled, pushing herself away from his desk. “Sounds like a dream come true to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> this didn't really end up going where i wanted it to, but eh whatever  
> hmu @ urusaaa on tumblr


End file.
